In a new study from the University of California, San Francisco, researchers found over a quarter of US adults with depression or anxiety symptoms reported needing mental health counseling but were not able to access it during the COVID-19 pandemic.
They analyzed data from nearly 70,000 adults surveyed in the US Census Household Pulse Survey in December 2020.
Nearly 40% of adults in the study reported depression or anxiety symptoms during the pandemic.
Overall, 12.8% of adults reported an unmet need for mental health counseling, including 25.2% of those who reported depression or anxiety symptoms.
Women were nearly twice as likely to report an unmet need for mental health counseling than men. Young adults also were more likely to report an unmet need for mental health counseling than older adults.
Women have disproportionately borne the burden of childcare and caregiving for older adults during the pandemic. Young adults have felt socially isolated and experienced high rates of job loss.
The team says medical professionals, social workers, and clinicians need to proactively take steps to screen for symptoms of anxiety and depression and help clients to access mental health care.
Telepsychiatry and telemental health services can improve access for people with unmet mental health needs.
Patients have experienced several month waitlists for counseling or therapy during the pandemic.
Policymakers should include more funding for mental health services as part of pandemic relief legislation and extend the use of telehealth to address the widespread unmet mental health needs of Americans.
If you care about mental health, please read studies about new nasal spray can treat anxiety disorders and findings of anxiety is linked to faster development of Alzheimer’s disease.
For more information about mental diseases, please see recent studies about one dose of this drug may lower anxiety and depression for 5 years and results showing that taking this supplement once a day may reduce anxiety.
The study is published in Psychiatric Services. One author of the study is Jason Nagata, MD.
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